A suspect believed to be a member of a pro-Syrian government militia is facing trial in the Netherlands and refused to answer any questions posed by judges on Thursday regarding allegations of his involvement in the arrest and torture of at least two individuals in Syria in 2012. The accused, Mustafa A. (35 years old), faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for detaining at least two individuals and handing them over to officials of the Syrian Air Force intelligence who manage a prison where the detainees suffered torture. This is the first Dutch trial for war crimes against an individual accused of fighting for the government of President Bashar al-Assad in the ongoing 12-year Syrian conflict.
According to the prosecution, Mustafa A. was a leading member of the Quds Brigade, a militia primarily composed of Palestinian refugees living in Syria, which was established in the early years of the Syrian war. On the first day of the trial, judges heard from witnesses who stated that the suspect was a prominent member of the Quds Brigade and violently participated in their arrest, providing details about the beatings and torture they endured in prison.
Despite being asked several times to respond to statements and excerpts from his interviews with the police and recorded phone calls, Mustafa A. insisted on his right to remain silent each time. The suspect, who was arrested last year, has been living in the Netherlands since 2020 and has applied for asylum there. In recent years, Dutch courts have convicted several opposition Syrians and armed Islamic groups in Syria of war crimes. Such cases are prosecuted in the Netherlands under principles of "universal jurisdiction," which stipulate that individuals suspected of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity can be tried abroad.
